1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a reacting device to cause reaction of a reactant which is supplied, particularly to a reacting device that is heated by a heating unit and causes the reaction.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, development has been underway in order to mount fuel cells serving as clean power sources that are high in energy conversion efficiency on automobiles or portable devices. A fuel cell is a device that causes fuel and oxygen contained in the atmosphere to react with each other in an electrochemical manner to directly extract electrical energy from chemical energy.
Hydrogen simplex can be exemplified as a fuel used for the fuel cell. However, this fuel has a problem in handling caused by the gas that exists under normal  temperature and pressure. Although an attempt is made to store hydrogen by means of a hydrogen storage alloy, a small amount of hydrogen per unit volume may be stored. In particular, this fuel is insufficient as fuel storage means of a power supply of a small sized electronic device such as a portable electronic device.
In contrast, in reforming type fuel cells that reform a liquid fuel having hydrogen atoms such as alcohols and gasoline to generate hydrogen, a fuel can be easily stored in a liquid state. In such fuel cells, there is a need for a reacting device having: a vaporizer that vaporizes a liquid fuel and water; a reformer that causes the vaporized liquid fuel and a high temperature water steam to react with each other, thereby taking out hydrogen required for electric power generation; and a carbon monoxide removing unit or the like that causes reaction of oxidizing carbon monoxide that is a byproduct of the reforming reaction to remove carbon monoxide that is the byproduct of the reforming reaction.
In order to downsize such reforming type fuel cells, for example, development of a micro-reactor or reacting device has been underway in which a groove is formed, and there are laminated the vaporizer, the reformer, and the carbon monoxide removing unit formed by bonding metal substrates, that serves as a reaction flow channel in which the groove causes the  above-described various reactions therein.
For example, in a reacting device configuring a reformer, an operating temperature is equal to or greater than 250° C. that is a comparatively high temperature. In order to cause a reforming reaction that sufficiently meets a design value, it is necessary to set a whole reaction flow channel uniformly at a predetermined temperature. On the other hand, in order to properly cause the reaction, it is necessary to lengthen the reaction flow channel. Therefore, the reacting device may comprise a plurality of reactors in which the reaction flow channels have been formed. In such a case, it is difficult to maintain each of the reactors configuring the reactor at a comparatively high uniform temperature. In the case where there is temperature non-uniformity in each of the reactors, a reforming reaction sufficiently meeting the design value is not carried out.